Wasted Caine Blood
by WhatNow91
Summary: after a mysterious turn of events...will Horatio return normal or not?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It's been a one whole week since the Stiller-Murder took place, and the CSI's evidence was running cold. They had no more leads on suspects, new evidence or even witnesses.

Late that afternoon, on a warm and cloudy Wednesday, Horatio Caine, head of the crime lab, was sitting in his office finishing the paperwork on the murder so that it can go into the Unsolved Evidence locker. He was suddenly disturbed by the ringtone of his phone.

"Caine." Horatio answered.

"Is this Horatio Caine?" the voice asked.

"Yes. With whom am I speaking?" he replied.

There was silence for a moment. "Sir?" Horatio asked looking at his phone to see if the call is still connected.

"Sir?" He tried again. , hearing ruffling noises on the other side.

"You have to help me. My name is John. I don't know where I am. You have to help me before they come back!"

"Before who comes back?" Horatio asked concerning. " John?"

"I think I am somewhere in the glades…hang on! They're back…." He said worrying and scared and hanged up.

Horatio studied the phone, thinking hard about the conversation that just took place.

He flipped the phone open again and called Frank.

"This is Tripp." Came an answer.

"Frank, I received a call on a kidnapping in the glades."

"Okay, where in the glades."

"He didn't say, Frank. I'll meet you outside." Horatio said, putting down the phone and clipping his gun to his belt.

He quickly moved downstairs and saw Frank outside waiting for him.

"Horatio. " Frank greeted.

"Frank." He nodded.

"So, this kid's somewhere in the glades?"

"It appears so."

"Where?"

"Guess we'll have to find him."

"Okay, Horatio, I'll call for back up and have them meet us there." Frank said.

"Good idea Frank." Horatio said putting on his sunglasses turning towards his hummer.

After about three hours of searching in the Everglades in several different parts , Horatio, Frank, and the rest of the officers found nothing. No bodies, no evidence of a struggle that could've took place. Nothing.

"Horatio, I'm calling off the search" Frank said into the radio.

Horatio responded, "Alright Frank. Let's return to base."

Horatio was alone in one quadrant where they were searching. So he stood there one last time, carefully viewing the scene for any obscurities. He eventually saw nothing and climbed inside the hummer. He carefully listened to every police officer conclude they found nothing and was returning to the lab, before he set off himself.

But before he could set off, his phone rang again.

"Frank."

"Horatio, where are you?"

"On my way, Frank."

"Okay, see you back at the lab." And he hanged up. Frank was just concerned, because Horatio never responded over the radio.

The sunny skies of Miami was slowly disappearing, and filling up with dark, rainy clouds and nightfall instead. Horatio steadily made his way back to the lab. He was staring out of the window while driving, watching for anything suspicious. Still, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Still being in the everglades and getting dark fast, he decided to give in and drive faster to get out of the glades and onto the highway.

However, suddenly it all went wrong…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A huge explosion and along with other rattling and screeching noises were heard. Massive sparks was to be seen, as the hummer rolled on its side.

Horatio was trapped inside.

He shook his head. A huge avalanche of pain descended on him. Glass had shattered everywhere and most of which were tiny pieces , was lodged into his face.

Horatio's vision was impaired. He didn't see anything straight. He was breathing loudly, struggling to breathe. His chest was on fire. He couldn't move. His left leg was pinned down by something. He was sideways. Blood was dripping on the window where his head was. But how can he be laying sideways? How could this be? What happened? Everything was still fine….when….the light, there was a light, Horatio remembered. But what…? He tried thinking very hard. Horatio was feeling very, very confused. Suddenly it dawned on him, that he may have had an accident or something. As the minutes passed, the pain grew more and more. He had to get out of the vehicle, but he didn't know how to. Even if he knew, he couldn't move.

Blood was now seeping through his bright white shirt near his chest, where he started to feel a jolt of pain coming through. Still trying to make sense out of all this, he attempted to slowly feel his way up his chest with his one hand, when he felt it. It was a knife. One of the knives that Horatio liked to carry around in his car, has stabbed him during the course of the accident.

"Oh my God." He said in disbelief to himself putting his head back. Now, Horatio was very unsure whether he should pull out the knife or not. If it is deep enough it must've penetrated an artery or an organ, then he couldn't dare pull it out, but he didn't know how far it went inside his chest. All he felt was a lot of pain coming from the stab wound.

He tried to breathe slowly, trying to calm down. But it did not help. The pain was growing by the minute. He thought of reaching for his phone, but it was missing. It must've fell out of his pocket or something. And the radio…he thought. Yes, the radio.

Horatio grabbed for the radio and spoke in a soft, husky voice "Officer down….. Car accident…. ..in glades." He could barely manage speaking because he was fading fast. "Frank…" he tried saying as he felt himself leaving consciousness. "No." he yelled at himself. I have to stay awake, he thought. Nobody heard the message Horatio tried saying over the radio.

Gathering all energy he had left, he tried again, shouting this time :"THIS …. Lt. CAINE….*he coughed*… IN THE GLADES…NEED RESCUE…" Horatio coughed some more. "accident…." Was the last word Horatio could get out and he started coughing up some blood.

He could hear the officer responding to the situation. "Lieutenant?" the officer asked over the radio.

Horatio didn't respond.

"Lieutenant, sir?".

All Horatio managed to say was a soft …"help…"

"Sir? Sir, you hang on! Fire and Rescue is on their way." No response from Horatio.

"Sir, you just hang on." He repeated.

Horatio was now grieving in so much pain, he badly wanted to move.

He managed to open the hummer's passenger door. Barely having any energy to do so. He used a lot of force, trying to push it open. Grunting, and breathing very heavily, he felt light headed again. "C'mon.." he said still barely catching a breath. Now he faced a problem. If he moved upwards, the knife will be penetrated deeper into his chest. However, not able to think clearly, he continued unbuckling the safety belt, struggling to position himself with his arms, but he managed to get himself out, someway, but cutting a nice deep cut into his thigh where something pinned him down. Also, the knife penetrated deeper into his chest. While laying on his back, on the wet ground, both his hands helped covering the wound the knife was making. It started to bleed badly.

Horatio had already lost so much blood. He had so many wounds on his body, and he was still coughing up blood. He felt himself getting unconscious again. And this time he couldn't fight it. His world turned black.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Frank heard the message over the radio and went to see the officer in charge of the incoming calls.

"Sergeant." The officer greeted as Frank entered the room.

"Officer, what can you tell me about Lt. Caine's whereabouts?" Frank asked.

"Sir, Lt. Caine reported an accident, but it wasn't very clear. However, we tracked the call to the Everglades, approximately 10 miles from the road."

"Good. Did Fire and Rescue get a call out?"

"Yes, sir. I sent them immediately. Lt. Caine didn't sound well. They picked him up about 8 minutes ago, on their way to the hospital. Apparently Lt. Caine was in a horrible car crash."

"Did they report anything." Frank swallowed hard. "Did they report any injuries….or death?"

"No, sir. Only that he's critical, and lost a lot of blood."

Frank thanked the officer and went down to the crime lab, where he got Calleigh and Ryan. So he called the rest of the team to discuss Horatio's accident. Nobody knew but Frank.

"Calleigh. Ryan. Meet me in the boardroom in half an hour please." Frank said as he passed them.

Ryan looked at Calleigh suspiciously. "We in trouble?"

Calleigh sniggered. "For what?"

Ryan just shook his head. "Well, whatever it is, Frank isn't in a good mood."

"Yeah well , let's finish up and get going."

After a while, Frank got Horatio's team gathered, and didn't know how to break the news. Eric, Natalia, Calleigh and Ryan were seated around the table.

"Frank, why so serious?" Eric joked. Frank gave him a sarcastic smile.

"Listen up, guys." He started, looking around.

"About an hour ago Horatio was in a car accident."

Everyone gasped.

Calleigh was the first to ask. "Is he okay? Where? What happened?"

"Hold on, Cal" Frank said.

"How is he Frank?" Eric asked loudly.

Frank took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. It's bad news." He said looking nervous.

"How bad?" Calleigh wanted to know, her eyes filling up with tears. Frank took a while to respond.

"How bad?" Natalia asked urging him on.

"He is critical, he lost a lot of blood and the doctors are fighting very hard to get him back."

"Get him back?..." Calleigh said, and she started crying. "You mean he….." she tried but couldn't finish the sentence.

"No, not yet, Cal. They've revived him two times now, but they can't get him stable enough." Frank said while Ryan comforted a sobbing Calleigh.

"Why…. .. Horatio?" Calleigh said in between her tears.

Eric also had his hands in his head, praying that Horatio will make it. "C'mon guys. I'm going to the hospital. Who's coming?" he finally said standing up.

All of them decided to go and were on their way to Dade General.

They entered the hospital like one person. Eric rushed to the nurses' station to know where Horatio was.

"Lt. Caine…" the nurse repeated searching through the files.

"Oh, yes. The car accident. " she said taking Horatio's file. "Follow me." The nurse said and led them to the Intensive Care Unit's waiting room.

"Do you know anything? Is he okay?" Eric asked the nurse impatiently.

She quickly looked through his chart.

"Sir, I believe the doctors took him to surgery. His heart stopped." She replied.

"His he… uhm . what….oh my gosh." Eric stumbled through the words, panicking.

"Sir, the doctors will be out momentarily. If you could just take a seat." She said and left.

"Eric, did I hear correctly. Horatio's heart stopped?" Natalia asked bewildered.

He was pacing up and down. He nodded at her question.

Calleigh was sitting with Ryan. Not crying this time, but her face was covered with her hands.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After three hours of pure waiting, a doctor finally came through the sliding doors. Natalia was asleep on Ryan's lap, who was also asleep. Only Eric and Calleigh was awake, stressing.

"Family of Lt. Caine?" the doctor said loudly. Calleigh and Eric jumped out of their seats.

"Yes, Doctor?" Calleigh answered.

"Are you family …" he started but Eric interrupted. "No, were colleagues. But we are his family." He said roughly.

"Ah well. That's okay then."

"How is he…did he make it?" Calleigh asked with dread.

"Yes, Lt. Caine is alive. He's stable for now. However I have some bad news." The doctor said seriously.

"What is it?" Eric asked.

"Due to the blood loss, not enough oxygen got to his brain and therefore he is in a coma."

Calleigh and Eric stared at the doctor. And then looked at each other.

"For how long?" Eric finally asked.

"I can't say surely. It depends on how strong he is and how well his body recovers." The doctor replied.

"May I…may I please see him." Calleigh softly asked.

"Sure, but only one at a time because we are in the ICU."

"Thank you Doctor." Calleigh said and left with the doctor, leaving Eric and the others in the waiting room.

Calleigh didn't know what to expect. But she tried to prepare herself.

"Here we go." The doctor said showing her the room. "I'll be back later to check on him again."

Calleigh thanked the doctor and stepped inside the room.

A sight of horror stood before her.

"Oh my god." She gasped. It was a lot worse than she thought.

Horatio's handsome face was covered in tiny scratches. Most of what was visible of his body was either covered in wounds and cuts or covered with bandages. He was also covered to a lot more machines than she'd thought. His life was literally hanging by a thread.

"Oh Horatio..." She cried, tears rolling off her face as she walked closer to him. She sat down next to him, trying to hold his hand in hers. It felt heavy, as if there were no life in his once warm and soft hand.

She whispered softly to him.

"Handsome, please keep fighting. Please, keep fighting Horatio… I know you're a fighter." She said softly in between tears. "I hope that you can hear me. I pray that you get better. Please, please don't give up. I still have to tell you something…" she said wiping away some tears before she spoke again. " I love you, Horatio. Please listen to me. I need you to get better. Please wake up." And she planted a soft kiss on his forehead, also stroking his hair softly.

A nurse quietly stood in the doorway, observing the scene. "Miss? Are you okay?" she asked politely.

Calleigh closed her eyes for a moment before she spoke.

"I'm fine." She meekly replied. "But he's not."

The nurse nodded and came closer to Horatio's bed, holding out his chart.

"Anything wrong?" Calleigh asked watching the nurse's facial expression which turned to confusion.

"I'm just going to get the Doctor to come in." she said while paging Dr. Montgomery.

Only a minute passed, and Dr. Montgomery appeared in Horatio's room.

"What happened?" he asked the nurse.

"Dr., something isn't quite right." She replied showing the doctor something on the chart and on the monitor that monitored Horatio's heart.

Calleigh watched them closely. "What's wrong, Doctor?"

"Get this patient up to radiology for a CT scan and keep track of the heart monitor please. If his pulse decrease to 95 please page me as soon as possible." The doctor said, while the nursing staff already started transporting Horatio.

Calleigh couldn't bear the stress. Luckily, the doctor knew what she wanted to know and told her.

"I know your confused, and wondering why I want a CT scan." He said, and Calleigh nodded immediately.

"When the ambulance brought him in, he had a knife stuck in his chest." Calleigh gasped. "A knife?" she asked confused. "Someone stabbed him?"

"No, I don't think he got stabbed by someone, but rather during the course of collision."

"Oh my God." She gasped again, feeling the pain for Horatio. "Okay, so what's the knife got to do with anything, Doctor?" she said, shrugging off the idea that Horatio was unintentionally stabbed.

"I believe a piece broke off. Like the tip of the knife. Because he was revived twice, it may have broke off – and the paramedics only gave us the information on the knife after the operation to his heart. I think a piece is maybe lodged somewhere because he's pulse is weakening, but I'm hoping it's not in the heart." He said.

He could tell by the way Calleigh was looking at him, that she was worried. Very worried. So he added: "Oh, but I'm hoping that's not the case, and that his scan will come up clean. We should know within the next 5 minutes."

"Thank you" was all she could say while she stood there, still processing the information.

While waiting for the results, Calleigh told the rest of the team about the situation and how serious it may get.

"He got stabbed?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, the doctor suggested it happened during impact." Calleigh said.

"Oh, well it makes sense a bit." Eric added.

"How the hell does this makes sense?" Calleigh asked furiously.

"You know, Horatio carries a knife in his pocket. And he has a couple in the car." He replied

"Oh." She said. "I'm sorry, Eric."

"Hey, it's okay, Calleigh. Horatio will be fine. He's a fighter, remember." He said trying to comfort her.

"I'm just scared he doesn't make it." She said softly.

"He will, Calleigh. Horatio doesn't give up."

A moment later, Dr. Montgomery arrived in the waiting room.

"So, Lt. Caine's scans came up clean, which is a relief. He's still stable. Everything's normal, but he needs his rest." He said looking at the four of them.

"And I suggest that you four go home and rest as well. I'm not going to let anybody near him for 24 hours."

"Why not?" Eric wanted to know.

"Lt. Caine is still in a coma. He won't come out of it soon. He is vulnerable to toxins and disease, so I put him in a isolated area for now."

"Okay, thank you, doctor." Ryan said as the doctor turned away. "Well, I guess I'll come by tomorrow again."

Eric nodded. "Guess so."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After a very restless night, Calleigh arrived at the hospital, early the next morning. And she was very surprised to find Frank sitting in the waiting room.

"Morning Frank. How is he?" she asked.

"Hi Calleigh. I was just there, he's looking horrible but no change."

"Oh." Was all Calleigh said while she took a seat next to Frank. "What's wrong, Frank?" she asked noticing how agitated he was.

"I dunno." He said. "Something isn't right."

"What do you mean?"

Frank sighed loudly before he spoke.  
"Yesterday afternoon, Horatio received a call. About a kidnapping, in the glades. So he called me to meet him there. We searched for four hours, but nothing came up."

"You are thinking it could be a set-up? Somebody planned this!" Calleigh said angrily.

"Yes, that's what I'm thinking."

"Horatio never reported another car, did he?"

"No." Frank said, thinking. "That's strange. How did he roll the hummer?"

"Frank. We have to take a look at Horatio's hummer. Where is it?"

"I believe it's at CSI's storage yard."

"I'm going to get Ryan and Eric to process that car immediately." She said picking her phone up and she called Eric.

After Calleigh was done, Frank stood up. "Listen, I'm going to help Eric and Ryan, Calleigh. You call me if something change?"

"Sure, Frank. I will." She said smiling. Frank left, leaving Calleigh alone in the waiting room. So she decided to go to Horatio's room.

She saw him laying there, as he did the day before, looking hurt, painful and sore. Her heart broke at the sight of him. They still weren't allowed to be near him, so she stayed outside observing him from the window. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear the doctor standing behind her.

"Miss. Dusquene." He said loudly, making her jump.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay, Doctor." She said shyly. "Any change in his condition?" she asked.

"I'm going to check in with him now." he said entering the room.

Calleigh watched Dr. Montgomery very close. He checked Horatio's vitals and a nurse who joined him, checked Horatio's wounds and gave them new dressings. For the first time she saw where Horatio was hurt. She saw the cut on his thigh, just as the nurse was replacing the bandage. Also, the rest on his arms and hands, and finally the cut on his chest. Calleigh could not imagine the pain Horatio was in. Luckily, for him though, he was in a coma – so he didn't feel any pain.

Calleigh saw the doctor scribbling down a couple of notes before coming out.

"Doctor, if I may ask, what is the extent of Lt. Caine's injuries ?"she asked formally.

"Do you know, I don't know how he survived, actually." He said, while Calleigh gave him an angry look.

"Uhm, he's got two fractured ribs on the left side and also two broken fingers on the left hand, which is serious, except for the head injury. And then some minor scrapes and cuts." He concluded.

Calleigh stared at him for several seconds. "Miss Dusquene?"

"Oh, sorry. Uhm, can you maybe tell me when he will wake up?"

The doctor looked at her sympathetically.

"I'm sorry. I can't say for sure." Calleigh gave a nod.

"But you can go in to see him if you'd like." He said so she can feel better.

"Thank you Doctor."

Calleigh still wasn't feeling any better. Just the fact that Horatio will not ever wake up again, scares her to death. All she could do was to sit and wait for him even if it took hours, days or weeks.

While sitting with Horatio, holding his hand, her phone rang.

"Dusquene." She answered.

"Hey Cal, we found nothing suspicious on the hummer except for paint transfer." Eric said.

"Okay, so did you get anything off it?"

"Yes, the paint is from a Chrysler SUV, Black, however it's a stolen car with fake plates. Frank already picked up the car."

"Great work Eric. "

"Yeah, we're going to process that now for DNA or trace."

"I hope you find something."

"Me too. How's H?" he asked.

"He's the same, Eric. There's no change." She replied.

"Okay, talk later." He said and ended the call.

Calleigh stared at her phone for a moment before she took Horatio's hand again and speaking to him.

"We will find whoever did this to you. We will find them."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Three days passed, where not a lot happened.

They didn't find this "John" that called Horatio to lure him into the glades. They also didn't find any evidence or anything in the Black SUV. The only thing Ryan found in the car was a strange, uncommon fibre that didn't match to anything in particular. And they also didn't find Horatio's phone at the scene of the accident to trace that call.

They needed Horatio to talk about what he witnessed. That was all that could help them catch this guy.

However, things were not as rosy at the lab. Everybody was struggling without Horatio. He always had another perspective on a crime or piece of evidence, that will lead to catching the killer and solving the case. Calleigh was in charge and did a great job managing the people, but everybody still missed Horatio dearly, including Calleigh herself.

She hadn't had a proper rest or slept much since the day of Horatio's accident. She refused to give up hope. She kept believing that he will wake again. However the time didn't come. She visited him early in the mornings till work, came by lunchtime and later in the evening till visiting hours were done.

On the fifth day of Horatio still being unconscious, Calleigh was sitting with him again. Talking to him, in the hope that he will wake up.

"Sorry to disturb you." The doctor said as he entered.

"Doctor, is anything wrong?"

"No, it's just time for me to check on my patient." He said smiling at Calleigh.

"Mmm, yep, everything is looking better for Lt. Caine." He said after a while, having done all the check-ups.

"Does that mean…?" she asked sensing a bit of happiness.

"Yes, he is recovering very well, most of the cuts are almost fully healed, except for the two big ones, and the ribs and fingers are also healing well. He should be getting out of the coma in the next few days."

This excited Calleigh a little, Horatio was going to be fine. She smiled to herself.

"Did you hear that Handsome? You are going to wake up any day now." She said smiling at Horatio, rubbing his hand warm. "You're gonna be just fine!"

Later that evening, Calleigh convinced the doctor to let her stay with Horatio during the night, and she managed to stay awake the whole time. When three o'clock in the morning came, she started feeling tired and put her head down on Horatio's bed, sleeping.

The next morning, the nurse waked Calleigh silently by shaking her shoulders slightly.

"Miss?" the Nurse said softly, still shaking Calleigh gently. " I've got a surprise for you."

"Mmm, what?" Calleigh said rubbing her eyes.

"Look who's awake." She said pointing a direction with her eyes.

Calleigh looked to her left.

For the first time in days, Horatio had opened his bright blue eyes. Calleigh couldn't believe it . Horatio is awake. He's alive! She stared at him in awe.

"HORATIO! You're awake!" Calleigh squeaked , trying to give him a big hug. The hug caused him a bit pain. "Ouch."

"Ma'm, be careful." The nurse noted.

"Hey Handsome, I'm sorry." She said, wiping away some happy tears. "How're you feeling?"

"Calleigh...I'm okay." He said. God, how she missed his voice. That deep, husky voice.

She couldn't help letting a few tears roll down her face as she sat on his bed, very close to him.

"What's the matter, Calleigh?" Horatio asked, not understanding why she's crying.

"I just…..I thought I lost you, Horatio. I'm so happy you're okay now." She said squeezing his hand.

He lifted the hand she was holding, wiping away the remaining tears on her face. "I'm okay, sweetheart."

She let him hold her face like that before she bent down to him, giving him a passionate kiss on the lips.

"Calleigh?" he said after her lips left his.

"Horatio, while you were in a coma, I said things to you, that I hoped you heard."

"What things?"

She took hold of his hand and stared deep into his eyes. "Horatio, I will understand if you don't feel the same way. But.." she took a breath"… I love you, Horatio. I really do. I wouldn't know what to do if you had died.." She said with tears filling up in her eyes.

"Hey, it's okay, sweetheart….shh it's okay." He said trying to comfort her with his words. After she calmed down Horatio replied " I'm feeling the same way." Calleigh looked at him, shocked by his words. She didn't expect him to feel the same way.

"Really?" she said.

"Yes, Calleigh. Have done all these years." He confessed.

She was so happy. "Oh, Horatio." She gave him a passionate hug. "Thank you." She whispered into his ear and kissing him on the cheek.

"For what?"

"For waking up and being well." She giggled. Horatio gave her a rare smile.

"So how are things, Lieutenant?" the doctor interrupted.

"I'm your doctor, Dr. Montgomery." He introduced.

"I'm okay." Horatio replied.

"Yes well, I'm quickly going to check you out." He said calling the nurse.

The doctor checked the cuts, they were almost healed. "Mm huh, these fingers are still in bad shape." The doctor said moving to Horatio's ribs. "Okay, I'm going to put two fingers on it, please tell me when you feel the pain." Horatio nodded. Doctor Montgomery then slowly put his fingers across the two fracture ribs, applying some pressure. "Does that hurt?"

"Ouch! Uhh, yes." Horatio said through his teeth.

"Mmmm, well. Sir, you are healing excellent. Just one more thing." He said and checked Horatio's eyes with a light. "Yes, stimulus is excellent." He said looking at Horatio.

"So, when can I go home?" Horatio asked.

"Horatio!" Calleigh said angrily, trying to quiet him.

"Sir, you have to stay here until Sunday, I'm afraid."

Horatio just leaned back, letting out a sigh. It is Thursday, today.

"You're injuries are minimized, however I want to hold you for observation."

"Doctor, what injuries' are still serious?" Calleigh asked.

"Just the broken fingers, and these ribs are still sensitive." He replied pointing out the injuries.

After the doctor had given Horatio some pain medication he left them alone again.

"So. Haven't you got some work to do?" Horatio asked after a while.

"You want me to go?" she said raising her eyebrows.

"No, I was just wondering." He said slowly, playing with her hand.

"What can you remember?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Of what?"

"The car accident?"

"Oh." He said while he was thinking about the horrible pain and everything else.

"Horatio?" she asked trying to get him out his thoughts. "Do you remember anything?"

"Yeah, I think." He said feeling his chest. "I was stabbed." Calleigh watched him carefully while he talked.

"And I saw a light. Another car I think. But it was already too close for me to make a move. And then….. then I woke up covered in blood. I was sideways and… I was hurting, with a knife in my chest." He finished, however his heart was beating fast with the remembrance of the accident.

Calleigh could see that Horatio was startled by all of this. "Hey…it's okay, calm down." She said, kissing the back of his hand.

"It's okay, Horatio. We already found the vehicle that collided with the hummer. But there was no evidence inside it. If you get better, we need you to take us to the place in the glades where you were. The suspect probably followed you, and we can maybe get some evidence there."

"Yeah, I'll do that. I know where I was before this happened." He said confidently, sounding like himself again.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry ya'll had to wait so long for me to update. I apologize. Enjoy ;)**

Chapter 7

The last four days had passed immensely quick for Horatio in the hospital. His whole team visited him regularly and they all were helpful keeping him happy to recover quickly.

Sunday had come and go as well, as Horatio was waking up on a beautiful Monday morning to get ready for work again. He slowly stood up, hands on his left side of the ribs because they were still sensitive. Steadily he walked to the bathroom. He stood in front of the mirror for a while, studying some visible injuries. He had a blue-ish, purple wound with stitches above his right eye. He gently tried to touch it but winced instead. He looked at the cast he had on his left hand. "Well, at least it's not my shooting hand." He observed speaking aloud. After observation, Horatio continued getting ready, taking a lot of time indeed.

On his way to the lab, Horatio was deep in thought during the drive. Not concentrating at all. _I'm not supposed to be back. Calleigh will shoot me, if she sees me at the lab. _He shook his head. _ No, I'm the Lieutenant and it's my job, _ Horatio reassured himself.

Parking his new department issued hummer, he casually strolled into the lab, eyes following him everywhere.

"Good day, Lieutenant." One officer greeted passing by Horatio. Horatio nodded back coolly.  
Horatio was on a mission. He wanted to get back into rhythm as soon as possible. So he went to DNA where Eric, Ryan and Natalia were.

"Horatio!" Natalia exclaimed moving from her station to hug Horatio. "Ms. Boa Vista." He replied as she hugged him. Ryan and Eric watching the situation with widened eyes. Nobody has ever made physical contact with Horatio in the lab.

"Hey H! Nice to see you again." Eric said giving him a firm handshake.

"How are you, Horatio?" Ryan asked observing Horatio's left hand that's in a cast.

"I'm well, thank you Mr. Wolfe." He replied coolly. They all smiled at him because their boss was back. "Now, who can update me on all the situations of the lab?"

"Calleigh has all the information you are looking for, H." Eric said. Horatio nodded and left.

"You think he's okay." Ryan asked Eric, watching Horatio leave.

"I suppose." Eric replied continuing with the evidence.

Horatio headed to ballistics, where he noticed Calleigh was busy comparing bullets. He stood in silence before she noticed him. "Hey Handsome, you may enter." She chuckled.

"I know." He said stepping closer.

"You look better since I saw you yesterday." She said .

"Yeah, I feel better. Ready for work. Can you please fill me in on present cases?" he asked fiddling with his sunglasses.

"Are you sure you want to start work so soon, Horatio?"

"Calleigh, please." He said looking into her eyes.

Calleigh nodded. "Alright then, I'll bring you the case files. We've got three cases presently, no new ones though."

"Good. I'll be up in my office then." He said and walked out.

Calleigh stared in the direction he left. _I don't understand. Did I do something wrong here?_ she thought because Horatio was only acting as her boss. She then immediately grabbed the files, to take them to Horatio.

She knocked, before she entered. "Come in."

"You got a second?" she asked walking up to his desk and putting the files down. "That was fast." Horatio said looking at her, studying her behaviour. He noticed something wasn't right. "Calleigh, is there something wrong?" he asked as she closed the door behind her.

"That's what I want to ask you?" she replied.

"What…How do you mean?" he asked raising his brows.

Calleigh looked at him funny. Just yesterday she told him that she loved him, and he doesn't seem to remember, or he is putting on a professional attitude. "About us." She finally questioned. Horatio thought deep for a moment. "I can't, Calleigh. We are at work." He said looking down at some documents. She continued to look confused. "Maybe I'm not clear." She said. "Clear about what?" Horatio asked being confused too. Calleigh then motioned for him to sit next to her on the couch in his massive office.

"What's up?" he asked sitting next to her. Calleigh looked into his blue eyes, putting her hand on his thigh. "Calleigh?" he asked with raised brows while she moved closer to him. "Kiss me, Horatio" she begged. "Please."

Horatio didn't think twice, and moved in for a passionate kiss. First teasing her lips with his, before allowing himself to kiss her hungrily. After a few moments, both broke loose for some air. "Oh my" Calleigh gasped, cuddling in Horatio's arms. "What's wrong?" he softly asked. "That was some first kiss, Handsome." She chuckled and Horatio smiled. "Mmm. You wanted to know about us, right?" he asked stroking her blonde hair. She only nodded, enjoying him holding her. They were rudely interrupted by Horatio's phone, ringing.

"Sorry sweetheart." He said as he pressed the 'answer' button. "Caine." He answered.

"Horatio, Frank and I need to speak with you about the accident if you're not busy."

"Okay, Mr. Wolfe. Meet me in ten in my office."

"Sure" Ryan said and disconnected.

"What did Ryan want?" Calleigh asked.

"It's about my accident." He sighed. "Hey Horatio, you can tell them not to bother you now with it." Calleigh said sweetly. "I know, but the sooner they find the guy, the happier I'll be. I think" he said standing up. "They'll be here in eight minutes, sweetheart."

"We'll talk later then." She said kissing him one last time on the lips.

After exactly eight minutes, both Ryan and Frank came walking into Horatio's office.

"Gentlemen." Horatio greeted.

"Hey Horatio, how are you" Frank asked.

"I'm good." He replied. "Now what have you got."

"Well, we found this fibre" Ryan started handing Horatio a document on the fibre's details "and nothing else. No prints, DNA or anything else."

"And this doesn't account for anything right?" Horatio asked studying the paper.

"Yes, nothing." Ryan replied.

"Horatio, it will help if you can show us where and what you saw, if we take you to the glades." Frank said.

Horatio thought about it moment. "Yeah, sure." He said standing up. "Ryan, take Eric with you and Frank. And I'll meet you there with Calleigh. At the scene of the accident."

"Good, see you there. " Frank said and left with Ryan.

Horatio sighed. He didn't want to go back to where he almost got killed a week ago. But he has no choice and he has to stay strong, he has to keep focussed. He quickly walked towards Trace where he saw Calleigh.

"Hey Calleigh" he said looking around the glass door.

"Yes, Horatio" she answered not looking up from her work.

"Come on, we got a crime scene." He said and she responded. Quickly closing the evidence folders and met up with him at his hummer.

"Where are we going?" she wanted to know after a while.

"To the glades." He coldly replied.

Calleigh looked at him for a moment. She couldn't read his eyes, because they were covered by his sunglasses. "Handsome" she said as she touched his arm. "We aren't going to a crime scene, are we? We are going to the place where you almost…" but she stopped, realizing what she what saying. She heard him sigh, followed by a tear rolling down his cheek. Horatio then stopped at the side of the road, and climbed out of the vehicle. He walked a few feet from the car, stopping and staring into the distance, suddenly realizing what he have been through the last week or so.

Tears streamed from his face as he realized just how close he came to death. He didn't take the sunglasses off, just letting his emotions be free for a change. But he didn't want Calleigh to see that he was crying either.

Calleigh, however, were observing him from inside the car. She decided to get out to comfort him. She neared him slowly, because she didn't want to startle him. She could see how distraught he was as she came closer. She laid a hand on his shaking shoulder. "Horatio?" she said, moving closer as he let her hug him, however not responding to any contact. "It's okay…" she said comforting him, rubbing his back. "It's okay." She repeated. She stood there holding Horatio for about ten more minutes while she waited for him to calm down. He was now holding her close him, not crying but doing nothing but breathing slowly. "Horatio, are you okay?" she whispered into his ear. He didn't reply, as if he didn't hear her. "Horatio?" she said a bit louder. "Mmm." "Are you okay?" she repeated. "Mmm" was all that came from him. "I'm sorry." He said. "Sorry for what?" she asked confused. "Sorry for this." He said sighing again.

She stood back to look into his eyes. "Nothing is or was your fault, okay? You're okay now, and I love you, that's all that matters, Horatio." She said kissing him on the lips. He didn't say anything back. "Are you fine to go?" she asked after a while. "Yeah." He sighed heading back towards the hummer. "Horatio, let me drive, okay?" she asked waiting for him to protest, but he didn't. Instead he climbed into the passenger seat, staying quiet.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

After a short drive, Calleigh and Horatio arrived at the scene, where Frank, Eric and Ryan were already waiting.

"You two got lost?" Eric joked with Calleigh when they met up. Calleigh didn't know what to reply.

"Traffic" Horatio intervened, glaring at Eric through his sunglasses.

Eric quickly left Calleigh alone and waited for orders. "So, Horatio, what do you remember here?" Frank asked.

Horatio left his sunglasses on, not taking them off, because he knew his eyes was red from the emotional outburst earlier. Instead Horatio looked around slowly, the painful memory still haunting him. "Nothing here, Frank. This is where I rolled the car." He said pointing at the spot. "It was dark, so I saw nothing here."

"Okay, where were you coming from?" Frank asked again.

"Let's do this another way. I'll walk where I drove the car, that way you can search the perimeter faster." Horatio said roughly.

"Good idea, we'll follow you with a car then." Frank replied.

"I'll walk with Horatio." Calleigh said quickly and all three of the guys stared at her, "What?" she asked, following Horatio who already started walking.

"You still okay?" she said running from behind him.

He glared at her from behind his sunglasses. "Yes, I'm fine."

"Okay, Handsome." She said as Frank caught up with them.

After walking miles and coming up with nothing. Horatio finally noticed something familiar.

"I know where we are." He said. "Yeah, we're in the glades." Calleigh said looking strangely towards him. "No, I mean I saw something here that night."

Horatio looked around carefully. "There" he said pointing in a direction. He started moving in the direction of a blinking light. Calleigh and the others rushed to stay with him, but he moved so fast. "Horatio!" Frank yelled. "Slow down" he panted.

They finally caught up with Horatio, only to find him staring at some old cabin.

"Horatio?" Ryan panted. "Did you see something here?"

"Maybe." He replied still staring at the patio. "Something…" he said slowly and very softly, "Something isn't right." He said feeling sick at the pit of his stomach.

"Horatio? What's up?" Frank demanded out of breath. And suddenly a couple of gunshots went off.

All five of them dived behind a stranded, rusty truck, covering themselves. "Is everybody okay?" Horatio yelled. "Frank, call for back up!" Calleigh said while she fired shots in the shooter's direction.

After a couple of minutes the gunfire stopped, and Eric saw a man running from behind the cabin. "Come on, Ryan!" He yelled as they left for pursuit.

Horatio, Frank and Calleigh stayed quiet while Eric and Ryan ran off after the guy, watching closely how Ryan tackled the man and restrained him. "Where are you going?" Eric panted, questioning the man. "Nowhere." He breathed.

"Come on, stand up!" Ryan demanded.

They walked the suspect back towards where Horatio and the others were gathered.

"What's your name, friend?" Horatio asked in a interrogative manner.

The man looked menacingly at Horatio and ignored his question.

"Hey, what's your name?" Frank growled. Again, the man said nothing.

"Why were you shooting at us?" Frank asked angrily.

He didn't reply, only looked to the ground. "Mr. Wolfe take him into custody, we'll start processing here." Horatio said coolly.

Horatio entered the cabin with Calleigh at his side. "You don't look so well." She whispered placing a caring hand on his forearm for no one to see, but him. "Calleigh" he whispered back. "It's okay, I'm not going to have a breakdown again."

She nodded understandably and both of them started processing.

"Horatio?" Frank said in search of him. Finding him in the living room area. "What's with the sunglasses Horatio? It's so dark in here."

Horatio slowly removed his glasses for Frank to see the redness in his eyes. "Dust, Frank." He said as Frank was wondering what happened. "Oh yeah, right. Anyway, we found a couple more guns at the back and nothing else. I say this guy's definitely got something to hide. And it's getting dark, so I think we should leave and have PD take care of this place tonight."

Horatio nodded. "Good idea." He gathered his kit before he turned back to Frank. "Would you please drive me and Calleigh back to the hummer, Frank."

"Sure H." he replied while Horatio went to get Calleigh.

"Hey sweetheart. We're leaving for the night, heading back to the lab." He said watching her.

"Okay, give me a minute" she replied getting everything she collected thus far.

Frank drove them back to the hummer. "See you guys back at the lab then." He said driving away.

Horatio shrugged. And it didn't go unnoticed. "What was that for?" Calleigh asked curiously as both of them loaded the evidence into the hummer.

"Last time he said that to me, I … I uhm " he stuttered, as his words died down. "Horatio" Calleigh said moving towards him. "Horatio, you know you can talk to me about it." She assured him putting a hand on his shoulder. He sighed. "I know". Calleigh looked worryingly at Horatio. "You wanna drive? I'm not up to it." He said heading towards the passengers' side.

"Oh Horatio" Calleigh sighed softly so that he couldn't hear. She knew that Horatio had to be a little traumatized by this experience.

Moments later, they arrived at the lab, safely. "Calleigh, I'll get two officers to bring in the evidence and log it." Horatio said as he walked towards the elevator. "Alright." She replied, following him.

While in the elevator, Horatio didn't make a sound, or moved. Calleigh also noticed he was looking very pale. The doors opened on their floor. "Horatio.." she tried, but he walked away not hearing her.

Calleigh sighed, shaking her head as she went back to ballistics, to finish her earlier work.

Hour after hour had passed as Horatio was sitting alone in his darkened office, head in his hands. He didn't know why, but he felt so sad, and emotional after revisiting that spot where the accident took place. He felt sick to his stomach. Being so angry with himself, he stood up, sweeping everything off his table with his right hand. One clean sweep. Glass shattered, photo albums broke, laptop broken and papers and files lying everywhere.

"I'll get you." He said through clenched teeth bitterly, holding his ribs together and staring out of the window.

Meanwhile, Calleigh noticed the whole event. Being a bit scared of Horatio, she slowly and silently entered his office, touching his shoulder gently. And he almost jumped at feeling her touch.

He continued to stare out of the window. Calleigh then hugged him from behind, holding him close.

"Calleigh?"

"Yes?" she replied, shocked that he's even speaking.

Horatio gulped before asking "Would you stay with me tonight?"

Without even considering what he asked of her she replied "Yes, of course, Horatio." And she gave him a kiss at the back of his neck.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

That night at Horatio's house. "Horatio please." Calleigh begged.

"No, Calleigh. I'm fine. Please just take my bedroom." Horatio said, already lying on the couch with his eyes closed.

"Oh my, you're a very stubborn man." She said, staring at him from across the living room. Horatio didn't respond to that. "Horatio, don't let me carry you to the bedroom!" She said threatening him. His eyes shot open as he looked at her. Imagining this well painted picture, he burst out laughing. Calleigh joined him on the couch, laughing just as hard. After a moment, Calleigh spoke, "Listen, you're not gonna sleep here." Just as he started protesting, she put a finger in front of his lips. "Shhh. I don't wanna hear anything." She said replacing her finger with her lips, giving him a loving kiss. She broke loose, and they looked into each other's eyes momentarily before Horatio kissed her back, passionately. He kept going, now laying on top of Calleigh, as he continued to kiss her. "Oh Horatio." She moaned as he placed soft, open-mouthed kisses in her neck. Before he could continue, his phone rang. "Dammit!" he cursed as he got up from Calleigh to answer.

"Caine." He answered, a bit agitated.

"Horatio, Ryan found a positive ID and major priors on that man we took into custody today. Just called to let you know."

"Right, thank you Frank." Horatio said. "Anything else?"

"You'll do the interrogation?"

"Yes, I'll take it." He replied.

"Okay, goodnight."

"Night Frank." Horatio said, hanging up.

He let out heavy sigh. "What's wrong, Handsome." Calleigh asked just as she was approaching him putting her arms around his neck.

"We got an interrogation tomorrow." He replied.

"The guy shooting at us, right?" She asked.

"Mm huh." He said getting lost in her eyes again. "But that's not the only problem, is it?" she asked softly. "Calleigh. I don't want to go too far. Not tonight sweetheart."

"Hey it's fine, I understand. Let's not rush into something." She said completely understanding.

"Thank you." He said giving her a peck on the mouth. "For what?" she asked confused. "For being with me earlier." He replied and she knew he was talking about the breakdown he had at the side of the road. "You're welcome." She said hugging him tightly.

"Let's go to bed, okay?" she said as she took him by the hand, leading him into the bedroom.

The night didn't go well for Horatio. He had a couple of death-defying dreams that he couldn't bear anymore. So instead, he left Calleigh alone in his bed and went outside. He sat on a chair on the balcony staring out in the distance, watching over the still, calm and dark Atlantic ocean.

Sitting there quietly, watching the ocean, calmed him inside. He always felt relaxed looking at the waves and listening to the sound it made.

"Horatio.." Calleigh called ruffling his hair. "Hey, we are going to be late for work." She said giving him a kiss on his cheek.

"Huh? What?" he said sleepy in a husky voice, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's 7 o'clock." She replied. "Oh, right" he said getting out the chair. "Sleep well?" Calleigh asked looking at him stretching. "Maybe." He said, caressing her cheek with his finger and then giving her a kiss. "I'll meet you downstairs in ten, sweetheart." He said, walking to the bathroom.

They drove to the lab together. "So, who's doing the interrogation with you?" Calleigh asked staring out of the window into the scenery. "I'll take Ryan, since he's the one who processed the evidence." He replied.

"Do you think that guy has got something to do with your… uhm accident?" Calleigh asked sincerely.

"I hope not. Otherwise he'll leave that room in a bag." He chuckled.

They arrived in the parking lot. "Okay handsome, see you later. Have a nice day." She said blowing him a kiss. "See you." He said walking in a different direction.

Horatio approached Ryan in the break room. "Mr. Wolfe, Frank called me about the evidence you found." He said coolly. "Yes Horatio, these are his priors, mainly couple of Breaking and Entering and Attempted Murder charges." Horatio studied the document Ryan just gave him. Something looked oddly familiar about the man's photograph, but Horatio couldn't place him or his name. "Mr. Hudson?" he murmured. "What's up, Horatio. Do you know him?" Ryan asked studying Horatio's expression. "No, Mr. Wolfe. But something is familiar about him." Horatio answered. Ryan nodded.

"What do we have on him?" Horatio asked putting the paper down. "Those bullets got a hit, to a previous unsolved case." Horatio nodded. "But none of the guns are registered to him. It's registered to his deceased brother." Ryan concluded.

"Let's go interrogate Mr. Hudson, then." Horatio said leaving.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Mr. Hudson" Horatio greeted as he entered the interrogation room. Ryan followed.

"So you've got some previous priors, Mr. Hudson." Ryan started, laying the documents in front of the suspect, who didn't look down one time but kept his glare on Horatio. "And.." Ryan continued "we matched the bullets you shot at us, to a previous unsolved murder case." Laying down another photograph of a gunshot victim. Once again he didn't look down and kept glaring at Horatio. Horatio noticed this. "However, the gun is not registered to you. Instead its registered to your dead brother." Ryan put his brother's photograph on the table.

Finally the man looked down at his brother's photo. "Yeah so." He spoke for the first time. Horatio's heart started beating fast. Something was very familiar about his voice. "Do you wanna explain why your brother's guns are in your possession?" Ryan asked oblivious to Horatio who'd just gone pale.

"Mr. Hudson? Why do you have these guns in your possession?" he asked louder.

Horatio took some deep breaths too calm down. "Mr. Wolfe, what was Mr. Hudson's brother's first name?" he asked only so that Ryan could hear. Ryan looked down at the documents. He shook his head, because he didn't know. "Joe, what was your brother's first name?" Ryan asked the suspect. The man stared angrily at Horatio, before he said loudly "JOHN." Horatio suddenly recognised the man's voice! Fury enraged him.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Horatio yelled with rage in his voice, moving towards Joe, pulling him up from his chair by the neck and shoved him into the wall. "Horatio!" Ryan yelled trying to get Horatio off Joe. "BACK OFF !" he yelled back, hitting Ryan's arms and strangling the life out of Joe. "YOU BASTARD!" Joe returned, punching Horatio in the face. "You bastard! " he repeated punching Horatio two more times in the head just as Horatio returned a massive hit to his stomach. And then hitting him again, against the side of Joe's face, so hard he plunged into the soundproofed wall of the room. Horatio was so angry, he took Joe's head and smashed it repeatedly into the glass wall. "You think you can cause an accident and KILL ME? Horatio blared out, giving him a final shove against the wall. Joe regained some composure, and kicked Horatio, unexpectedly, in the stomach, with full force. Horatio sank to his knees, breathing very hard, his ribs starting to ache, painfully. "Hmm, like that do you!" Joe sarcastically remarked, kicking him in the face.

Meanwhile Frank stood outside, keeping the officers out of the room. He knew that Horatio wanted a taste of this idiot. He even motioned for Ryan to get out and leave Horatio alone. The officers even starting chanting Horatio's name, as if it was a fighting match.

"What's going on here?" Calleigh demanded from Frank when she saw the fight between Horatio and Joe. "Just keep out of that room, Calleigh. Both of them will kill you." He replied watching the fight intensely. "Frank! Help him!" She said seeing the blood streaming down Horatio's face and walking towards the room. "No, you're not going in there!" Frank said grabbing her.

Furthermore the fight continued, neither Horatio or Joe was giving up punching and hitting each other as if the world depended on it. "I'll kill you!" Horatio growled as he put his whole strength behind grasping Joe's neck with his arm. "Not if I get to you first." Joe breathed. And he pulled Horatio over his shoulder onto the glass table which literally shattered into a million pieces because it couldn't handle the weight and force of Horatio's body. As the table broke, Horatio still got hold of Joe, pulling him down as he fell to the floor. Joe landed on top of Horatio, hitting his head. "Asshole!" Joe exclaimed now strangling Horatio, who was nearly out of breath.

Calleigh couldn't bear watching this. But Frank didn't let her go.

"Say goodbye." Joe panted, out of breath as well, still strangling Horatio. Horatio then gave him a very hard slap against the side of his ear, causing some ringing in Joe's ear, releasing Horatio a bit. Horatio rolled him over punching him into oblivion, still not stopping.

"Officers! Restrain Lieutenant Caine! He's going to kill that man" Frank finally ordered and three officers rushed into the glass-terrain room. "About time, Frank." Calleigh said sarcastically after he let her go.

"Lieutenant!" One officer yelled as he got hold of Horatio around his chest. "Leave him, come on!" he tried to pull him. "LIEUTENANT!" Three officers now pulled Horatio from Joe, who already was unconscious. Horatio was still fired up full of rage, trying to fight the officers as well. "CUFF HIM!" Frank yelled, seeing they were struggling to keep Horatio under control.

"Wow. Frank, I've never seen him like this." Calleigh said softly. "Me neither." Frank replied.

"What are you cuffing me for?" Horatio asked angrily trying to wriggle his way out of their firm grasps. "Take him into custody, please officers!" Frank demanded. "NOO!" Horatio yelled. "FRANK! FRAAAAANK" he yelled angrily as they dragged him away.

"You calm down first, Horatio!" Frank yelled back. Calleigh stood there, silently, with fear for Horatio. Frank noticed her. "Calleigh we'll release him, don't worry." He said calmly. Calleigh nodded. "I'm sure he'll calm down immediately." Frank continued. Calleigh shook her head. "No, Frank. This will take a while." She sighed.

A bit later, in the lab, Eric barged into the trace room where Ryan stood working on evidence. "WOW! Oh my God, Did you see Horatio?" he said loudly with excitement. "HE KICKED ASS!" he exclaimed loudly.

"I didn't see you there." Ryan said. "I was in the next room, watching through the two-way mirror. Horatio bashed the guy's head against that glass wall!" Eric replied.

"Oh, right." Ryan said continuing with his work.

"What's wrong with you Wolfe?" Eric asked wondering why Ryan isn't pumped about the fight as he was.

"Something is wrong with Horatio. Look what he did to my arm." Ryan said and he showed him the bruises on his left forearm.

"Are you kidding me? You were in his way." Eric said. "Don't worry, Ryan. He was just angry at that guy."

"Yeah I guess." Ryan said not looking up. "Was a pretty good fight though." He added, smiling at Eric.

Eric laughed. "I've never seen him so angry before, though."

Ryan nodded. "Yep, that was a first for me too."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Meanwhile back at the holding cells.

"LET ME GO!" Horatio blared as the officers dragged him into a holding cell. "Sir, this is for your own good." One officer said trying to uncuff him. "I'm your Lieutenant! Let me go!"

"No, sir. We are following Sergeant Tripp's orders." The one said, closing the door behind him. Horatio was still infuriated, so he slammed his fist against the brick wall. "Aaaargh" he exclaimed causing himself more pain. Clutching his hand and shaking his head, he thought _Brilliant Caine, now you went too far. They had to lock you up. _He chuckled to himself. Never in his lifetime did he think that he will ever beat up a guy, in a police station in the interrogation room, no less. And Horatio was a mess. He's suit was dirty and full of tiny pieces of glass, his dress shirt was torn and full of blood, he didn't even want to know how his face looked. Full of blood, probably.

After an hour, Frank came by. By now Horatio was lying on his back on one of the bunks, hands beneath his head.

"Horatio" Frank called.

"Yes, Frank." He replied looking at the ceiling.

Frank opened the door and went inside, looking down at Horatio.

"You okay?" he questioned looking at Horatio's beated face.

"I suppose." He replied remorsefully.

"Let's go" Frank said.

"Oh, so now you're done treating me like a criminal, right?" Horatio snapped at Frank.

Frank ignored him, he didn't give a damn what Horatio said. "Let's go." He snarled grabbing Horatio by the arm.

"Okay, okay, Sergeant Tripp!" Horatio joked sarcastically, wriggling out of Frank's grip. Frank glared at him. "Get yourself cleaned up. The chief wants to see you in his office in an hour." He said letting him out the holding cell.

"Wonder what about." Horatio murmured to himself.

He walked to the elevator, with the intent of going to the locker room, where he always had 2 suits and shirts, with every single person staring at him, he climbed in, luckily not seeing any of his team members. Calleigh then shoved into the elevator, just as it was closing. "Oh my….. Horatio." She greeted. She didn't look at him, instead keeping her gaze fully on the doors.

"Calleigh." He said and she pretended not to hear him. "Calleigh." He repeated when she shot him a dirty look. "Seriously?" Horatio questioned. "Yes, seriously." She said getting out of the elevator as quickly as possible.

He then continued, strolling to the locker rooms, feeling very pleased with himself. The locker rooms were shared by men and women. Only the bathrooms was separated. And it was rarely occupied by anyone during working hours. Horatio grabbed a suit and a light blue dressed shirt from his locker, and went to the shower. He undressed very slowly and was very careful not to cause himself anymore pain to any part of his upper body.

After the shower, and putting on his pants, he looked into the mirror for a moment, studying his injuries. He looked at the bruises on his ribs and back that was starting to turn blue. And the cuts on his face didn't stop bleeding, they kept going, especially the reopened cut above his right eye.

"Ouch!" a voice behind him came. Horatio flinched, looking at his visitor in the mirror.

"Natalia…" he responded with surprise, still trying to wipe the blood of his face. "I just came to see if you are okay, which you clearly aren't, because you look…"

"Like hell?" he finished with a smile. "Yeah I do." He sighed. Natalia couldn't keep her eyes from Horatio's lean and strong torso. "Natalia?" he asked after a while, noticing she was staring at him. "Oh right, sorry Horatio." She stuttered. He chuckled. "It's okay."

"Can I help you?" she asked pulling herself together. "With what?" he responded. "Let me clean those wounds" she said nearing him with a first aid kit. "I can take care of myself, you know." He startled. "I know. Just hold still, okay." She said, getting a cotton and steadily pressed it against the cuts on his face until the bleeding stopped. "Thank you, ma'm." he said slowly and softly. "Pleasure." She replied as she continued to put on a small band-aid on the big cut above his right eye. Horatio followed her every move and there was something very attractive about her. So he grabbed her hand that neared his face, "Horatio, wha…" she tried saying, but was silenced instead with a kiss. Surprisingly, Natalia kissed him back. By now, Horatio deepened the kiss and pinned her against the wall. Touching her seductively he kept on kissing her passionately, pressing her into the wall. "Horatio…" Natalia breathed in between gasps. "Slow….down…" she tried again. Horatio then suddenly realized what he was doing. He pulled back still holding on to her shoulders. "Natalia…" he said whispered, looking her in the eyes and catching his breath. "I'm so sorry." He said letting go of her. "It's okay." She said breathless. "I understand." "I'm really sorry, I shouldn't ha…" "Horatio" she interrupted "It's okay, I kissed back remember." Horatio turned around to put on his shirt. "Still, I'm sorry." He apologized, fastening the buttons. "Look, we'll keep it to ourselves." Horatio said putting on his jacket. "Yeah." She said smiling. "Didn't know you were such a great kisser." She said teasing him as she left. Horatio just stood there, in awe. Shaking his head he looked at his watch. "Oh god, the chief." He said rushing to the Chief's office.

He knocked at the door. "Come in" came a reply.

"Sir" Horatio greeted.

"Lieutenant, still fresh from the fight!" the chief snorted.

Horatio only returned a fake smile.

The chief looked at Horatio's face, which was all covered in bruises, with a empathic smile.

"I'm not gonna fire you, Lieutenant, if that's what you were wondering."

_Wow, that's a relief, _Horatio thought. "You're far too valuable to be fired. However, I'm letting this slip by. IAB will not bother you, I've dealt with them. But…." _Oh, here it comes_ " You will never attempt to fight a suspect again. I'll put you on permanent leave immediately. Do you understand."

"Positive." Horatio replied, standing up.

"By the way, I've seen the footage. Nice fight." The chief remarked, shaking his hand.

"Thank you, sir." Horatio replied with a real smile this time.

Horatio exited the building, putting on the sunglasses that covered at least a couple of scrapes. He walked to Frank who was talking to an officer.

"Horatio. "

"Frank." They tried to stare the other down.

"I'm sorry about my behaviour, Frank." Horatio said with all seriousness. Frank smiled. "Yeah, you're a real stubborn bastard friend, sometimes." Both laughed. "You okay?" Frank asked Horatio.

"Guess so" Horatio chuckled. "Good, see you around then." Frank said leaving.

Horatio didn't know where to go, next. His shift was over, he didn't want to go home. He couldn't go to Calleigh, because she was obviously mad at him and he may feel awkward after that kiss he shared with Natalia.

"Wait a minute." He talked to himself getting his phone out of his pocket and dialling her number. "Dammit." There was no answer.

He then decided to go to one of the peaceful places he knew, a deserted spot at the beach, were he would be alone. To get himself sorted again. This wasn't like Horatio at all. He never physically fought with people or got personal with employees at random.

He got to the place on the beach, where he turned his phone off. It was him against his thoughts. Everything that happened in the last two weeks had caught up with him once again.

**A/N: I hope ya'll liked the little twist in this chapter. If you're upset, let me know. I needed to surprise… ;)**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

At nearly 8 p.m. that evening, Horatio decided to return to his house. He climbed into the Hummer, turned on his phone, and so desperately wanted to call Natalia. He couldn't stop thinking about her for reasons he didn't understand. Something about her presence was so different, and attractive.

Natalia, meanwhile, decided to go with Calleigh, Eric, and Ryan after work , for a couple drinks. She too, couldn't stop thinking about Horatio. Why he did what he did. She didn't mind, of course, because he is just such a handsome man. And the mere fact that he's her boss, made it all the more exciting.

"Natalia." Ryan said, snapping his fingers in front of her.

"Yeah?" she said, being taken away from her thoughts, rudely.

Ryan and Calleigh looked at her. Then at each other. "So, who is he?" Calleigh asked.

"What do you mean?" Natalia asked , trying to hide her feelings.

"C'mon. I know that look. I'm a girl, remember, I know." Calleigh said southerly.

Natalia blushed a bit "He's no one, okay."

"Does he work in the lab?" Eric questioned.

"Would you like to know." Natalia remarked, keeping them interested.

"Well does he?" Ryan repeated Eric's question.

"Yes and no." Natalia said, not giving them any details. "Look, just leave it alone. I'll let you know when I get serious with this guy. We actually did nothing yet." She said confidently, finishing her drink.

"Alright., well, anyway, how about Horatio?" Eric asked the table.

"Horatio what?" Natalia said startled, stressing at the mention of his name.

"Horatio's fight." Eric confirmed looking at her strangely.

"Huh Calleigh? You saw it up close and personal." Ryan chuckled.

Calleigh didn't find anything funny about the situation. "He could've have picked up extensive injuries, and he could've been fired, Ryan." She said angrily.

"Okay, okay. Maybe it wasn't for women. But he did gave that guy a hell of a beating!" Eric said with excitement, as he and Ryan continued with the matter.

Calleigh and Natalia decided to leave and head home.

Natalia arrived at her house, seeing a massive vehicle in her driveway.

She felt relieved at the sight of the Miami-Dada Crime Lab sticker on the door.

"Horatio?" she said nearing the car, and him standing outside observing the view her house had. "Ma'm." he greeted. "Sorry if I scared you."

"No worries, sir." She joked. "All is well. I actually just wanted to call you."

Horatio raised his brows. "Really? Why?"

"Wanted to invite you for coffee." She said unlocking the front door. Horatio followed her inside.

"So, what are you doing here?" Natalia asked Horatio as they walked together to the kitchen.

"I…I uhm…I dunno." He said raising his hands in a unsure manner.

"It's okay" Natalia chuckled getting mugs from the cupboard.

Horatio felt so awkward at that moment. He really didn't know what was he doing at her house. He also had nothing to say to her as she made the coffee. "So shall we sit outside?" Natalia asked having the coffee ready. "Yeah. That's fine." He said taking one mug, and following her outside.

"Wow. Nice view." Horatio remarked as he took a seat opposite Natalia. "Yeah, I know. This is where I spent my mornings, relaxing."

Midnight was nearing and so they chatted for the rest of the evening, not one talking about what happened earlier in the locker room. Although Natalia desperately wanted to talk about it.

"So, Horatio." She started after a moment's silence.

"Yes."

"What about the incident in the locker room." Natalia tried asking, but it rather came out as a statement. Horatio couldn't help to give her a boyish smile, not a thing anyone sees. "I'm sorry, my reactions got the better of me, Natalia." He said. "So, it means nothing?" she asked feeling a bit hurt. "Uhm, no I think. Not if you want it to mean something." He replied unsure of what he should say. She nodded, unsure as well. She stood up and walked to the edge of the balcony. Horatio did the same and stood right beside her. "I don't know Horatio. I mean you are my boss after all." She said after a while. He nodded in silence. She looked at him and their eyes met. "Natalia.." he said warningly, because she touched his hand. "What? You know that's why you came." She said staring him down. Horatio, again, couldn't help fighting his feelings and drew her in for a gentle kiss. Things soon, spiralled out of control. She took his jacket off, and started with unbuttoning his dress shirt and he returned kisses left and right, taking her shirt off. "Natalia?" he breathed in between, actually wanting to put a stop to it. Luckily they were interrupted by a phone, ringing. "Excuse me." He said, reaching for his back pocket.

"Caine." He answered.

"Horatio?" It was Calleigh.

"Hey, is something wrong?" he asked changing his tone of voice immediately, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Why do you sound out of breath?" she questioned.

"I..uhm… I ran to my phone. I'm at the lab, and it wasn't with me." He said ."Oh…Well, I'm at your house, and I miss you. I'm so sorry about earlier. I'm not mad at you, Horatio." She confessed, sounding sad. "Please come home, Handsome." She said with a pleading tone of voice.

"I…uhm, I'm coming." Horatio said, saying goodbye and looking at Natalia. "I'm sorry Natalia, I have to go." He said "Crime scene?" she asked. "Yeah." He lied fastening the buttons on his shirt and grabbing his jacket. "Sorry again." He apologized and left.

_Oh god, now I've messed up everything. If Calleigh finds out, I'll never forgive myself._ He thought during the drive home.

He knocked at the door, even though it was his home. Calleigh opened the door. "Horatio!" she squeaked, being so happy to see him, and hugged him tightly. "Hey sweetheart." He replied, hugging her back. Oh, how he missed being close to her. "I'm so sorry, Horatio." She apologized again. He gulped. "Listen to me, please." He said as he sat down next to her on a sofa. "What's wrong?" Calleigh asked. "Calleigh, I'm the one who should be sorry. I'm so sorry." He said, his voice breaking slightly, because he just realized how he may have hurt Calleigh. She touched his cheek, seeing the sadness in his eyes. "What is it, Horatio?" she asked getting more concerned. "Calleigh, I …" he swallowed hard. "…I kissed Natalia." He said getting it out barely. Calleigh had tears in her eyes. "Now, sweetheart, I love you, so very much. It was a moment of weakness. And I'm sorry." He apologized again, almost on the verge of tears himself. She let go of him, holding her face in her hands, obviously crying. "I'm sorry, Calleigh. It means nothing. I didn't want to hurt you." He said, a tear escaping from his eye.

Calleigh finally looked up from her hands. "How could you?" she sobbed. "I'm sorry, she was just there…and …I dunno…" he said looking at her with the same hurt that she looked at him with. "Sweetheart, I'm really sorry." He said again. Calleigh turned away from him. Then she felt a pair of arms around her. "Please come here." Horatio said softly drawing her to his chest, holding her close and gave her a kiss on top of her head. Calleigh still felt the love and care that Horatio had for her.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Horatio sat holding Calleigh as if his life depended on it. She gave up fighting him, and was holding him around the neck. She was also afraid to let him go. "Why?" she whispered into his ear. "Why did you do it?" Horatio sighed. "Please believe I didn't do it to hurt you, sweetheart. It meant nothing, alright?" he softly replied. "But why?" she persisted. He pulled her back to look her into the eyes. "She came to help me, okay, to clean up the cuts." He pointed to his face "and I kinda lost control. I'm really sorry. Please forgive me." He said reassuringly, and looked at her with his beautiful blue eyes with which she was so in love with. She sighed. "I swear to God. If you ever cheat on me I'll shoot you. Did you hear me?" she said harshly, Horatio actually feared for his life there and then. He then took hold of her hand and held her hand to his chest, near his heart. "I promise, I'll never do it again." He said "I promise." She saw the truth in his eyes, and hugged him.

After precisely two hours of sleep, Calleigh woke up, alone. Horatio was nowhere to be seen or heard. He was actually downstairs getting coffee. "Morning Beautiful." He said, walking into the room and sitting near her side. "Sleep well?"

"Sort of, for two hours." She chuckled and Horatio joined. "Yeah, was a short time. I'm so tired." He admitted, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "What's that for?" she asked actually teasing him. "For you being a beautiful and wonderful woman, and me being an idiot." He said with a smirk.

She threw her arms around his neck and drew him in for a big tender kiss. "What was that for?" he teased back, and she grabbed a pillow to hit him with. Only causing the wound above his eye to start bleeding. "Oh dang it. Horatio you are bleeding" Calleigh said jumping out of bed to get a tissue. "Would you just bring those iron-droplets, please?" he said covering the wound with his hand.

"Are you sure you want this? It'll burn like hell." Calleigh asked. "Please."

She wiped most of the blood off the wound and dropped two droplets into the wound. "Aaaaaarrrggg! Ouch!" Horatio screamed loudly. "Sorry, Horatio." Calleigh laughed looking at the funny expression on his face. "It burns!" he said again. "I know, I told you. "

"I'll get dressed, just lay still, okay, till it stops completely." She said putting more tissues on the wound. "I think we should get you to the doctor's for stitches." She said while dressing. "Mm huh. Whatever." He said laying with his eyes closed.

After Calleigh was done, she kissed him on the lips and asked "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He replied heading for the bathroom to get ready for work.

Both drove themselves to work.

Calleigh came to find Horatio in his office around lunchtime. "Horatio." She said without knocking.

"Hey there sweetheart." He said with a smile. "Why didn't you go to the hospital yet?" she questioned looking him up.

"I uhm.. "

"No, let's go. Come on." She said grabbing him by the arm and out of the chair. "You're so stubborn sometimes." She murmured. Horatio liked it when Calleigh handled him roughly.

On their way out, they walked into Natalia.

"Ms. Boa Vista." Horatio greeted as always. Calleigh just rolled her eyes. "Horatio, I got those DNA results ready for you." She said smiling.

"Okay, I'll come by later." He said while Calleigh nearly dragged him outside. "Calleigh, relax. I'm coming."

Calleigh personally took Horatio to the hospital and let him get stitches. "I would've come in on my own, you know." Horatio said as he got back into the car after he was done. "Mm huh." Calleigh nodded, not believing him. However, all that Calleigh could think of was Natalia.

"Something bothering you, sweetheart?" Horatio asked her, seeing how distant she was staring.

"Yeah actually there is." Calleigh replied after a moment's thought.

"What?" he said parking the vehicle at the lab.

"Natalia is what's bothering me." She said looking him straight in the eyes.

"Calleigh, I've told you befo-" but he was interrupted. "I know what you said. I'm just scared okay." She said dropping her gaze and looking down.

"Hey" he said taking hold of her chin. "I love you, and I will never hurt you." He reassured her by giving her a sweet tender kiss. "Don't do that." She said after they broke loose.

"Do what?" he said unsure. "Don't kiss me like that, because then I forget that I was actually being mad at you!" she said poking him in the chest. Horatio just laughed at her, she was so cute when she was angry. "I don't recall telling you a joke, Horatio." She scolded. "I know." He said biting his lip. Calleigh grabbed him at the collar and pulled him in, teasing him with her lips. "Are you actually going to kiss me or not?" Horatio said out loud, and got punished by a slap to the face. "Ouch! What was that for?" he said touching his cheek. "Nothing" Calleigh smirked, stepping out of the car. "I'm going to get you back" he teased. "Ooh, can't wait." She purred as they neared the elevator.

The elevator was empty as they stepped inside. The ride will take about three minutes till they reach the top floor. "Come here." Horatio growled grabbing Calleigh by the waist, pulling her into a corner and he kissed her. "Horatio….camera's" she breathed in between. Horatio continued, and deepened their kiss at the sounds of Calleigh's soft moans. *Ding* They stopped before the doors opened. Calleigh was completely aback by Horatio's menacing behaviour. "Don't worry, the camera can't see in that corner." He whispered as they climbed out. "See you later." And they went into different directions.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Horatio was yet again in his office getting the paperwork done, when Frank called. "Horatio, Joe Hudson wants a word with you."

"Frank, I thought he was in prison by now." Horatio said rubbing his forehead.

"He is. But he has requested to see you." Frank replied.

"How does an inmate gets to request someone?" Horatio asked not understanding the situation.

"He had one phone call, and he called you, unfortunately you were out, so now he wants to speak to you. Maybe he just wanna say sorry for the accident or something."

Horatio winced. "I doubt it, Frank." And he put the phone down.

Horatio sat back in his chair, thinking about everything clearly. _A man, who nearly kills me, wants to talk to me. About what? And why? And why did he try to kill me?_ All of these questions lingered in Horatio's mind, so much that he didn't even see Natalia knocking on the door.

"Horatio?" Natalia asked, finally getting him out of his thoughts.

"Natalia, uhm…how can I help?" he asked returning to the documents on his desk. "What's got you in such deep thinking?" she said walking closer and sitting opposite him.

"I… uhm…It's nothing. Private matter." He said low and almost unheard.

"Oh right, anyway, here's that results you wanted. You never came by though." She said reaching for his hand. But Horatio pulled it back. He didn't want to get in trouble with Calleigh again. He wanted to stay straight and not cheat.

"Please. We're at work. There's no fraternizing with employees." Horatio said super sternly and that caused Natalia to stand up and look at him menacingly. "Oh but kissing employees in the bathroom is fine then?" she rhetorically asked, waiting for him to respond. He also stood up and pointed at her. "You provoked me! I couldn't help it." He said loudly but still seriously. "Oh and coming by my house? What was that all about? Did I do that as well?" Natalia challenged him. Horatio didn't respond to that. Calleigh was silently standing outside, peering through the glass door and listening carefully. "I was there for nothing more than to talk." Horatio finally replied, standing with his hands on his hips. "You were there for something else, because all men are the same." She shot at him. "Not me. And you kissed me first." Horatio shot back. Natalia then grabbed him by the collar and kissed him, Horatio desperately tried to fight her off when Calleigh appeared in the doorway. "Oh my, is this what you two do up here?" she asked.

"Calleigh.." Horatio breathed while Natalia left, "Please sweetheart, it wasn't what it looked like." He pleaded. She turned the stern look into a smile. Horatio raised his brows in confusion of her sudden change of expression.

"I know, I wanted to hear the whole truth, I guessed I've heard it all." She said sitting next to him.

"What? I don-" but he got interrupted.

"Listen, I told Nat about the two of us, that we are in a relationship. And she backed off, okay." She replied with a smile.

"Why did she just kiss me then?" Horatio asked still being confused. "Because I wanted to know if I can trust you again. Especially with her." Horatio nodded. "And I do trust you, because you didn't kiss her back." Calleigh said still smiling at Horatio.

"Sweetheart, please don't test me like that again. I made a promise, and you know I don't break promises." He said standing up. Horatio was a bit angry with Calleigh, but didn't show her. "Are we okay then?" he asked grabbing his keys and sunglasses from the desk. "Yes, we are." She replied giving him a quick kiss before he left.

Horatio got in his car and quickly drove to Miami West Prison. He checked in his gun and went to speak with Joe in one of the interrogation rooms. However before Horatio entered he told the sergeant in charge. "Sergeant, it'd be wise if you put a police officer in there with us." "Oh, Lieutenant Caine, it's fine if you wanted round two in here, nobody would know." The sergeant laughed. "You know?" Horatio asked surprised. "What? When a suspect gets in a fight with a Lieutenant at P.D. believe me, everyone knows!" he remarked quite happily. "Oh right." Horatio said with a faint smile, entering the room.

"Horatio " Joe sang when Horatio entered and took a seat opposite him.

"Joe." Horatio nodded, and saw that Joe was handcuffed to the table. "What do you want?"

Joe laughed. "I just wondered whether you're still thinking about your little 'accident'." He said mockingly.

"Hmm, well I would like to know the motive behind it." Horatio said staring Joe down for an answer.

"Oh, well its simple then." He remarked.

"How's it simple?" Horatio asked glaring at Joe.

"You took something of mine." He said glaring back.

"And what's that?" Horatio said.

"My son. You took my son away from me and now he's dead!" Joe yelled.

"Your son? How did I take your son?" Horatio asked being a bit confused.

"You arrested me for attempted murder, that I didn't commit, and then you put my son into child services, where he got killed." He said angrily.

"Joe, I'm hardly to blame for any of this." Horatio said calmly.

"If you didn't arrest me, my son would still be alive." Joe growled.

"I'm sorry, Joe, for your son. But you're a criminal, and you belong in jail." Horatio said standing up.

"Where do you think you're going?" Joe said watching Horatio leave.

"Visiting hours are over." He replied with a smile and left.

Horatio left to get back to the lab, while Joe was transported back to his cell.

Joe had a plan in mind, to kill Horatio off this time, he just needed to put into context. He plotted this plan with a friend in jail who also had a vendetta against Horatio and who was about to be released.

"Hey Calleigh, Eric" Horatio said as he stepped into her lab. Eric was also sitting there waiting for a result. "Hey" Both replied in unison.

"What's up, H?" Eric asked.

Horatio sighed as he took the seat next to Eric. "I just came from prison, where I had a conversation with Joe."

Calleigh and Eric looked surprised. "Why did you go?" Eric asked. "He wanted to talk to me, and I wanted to know why he wanted to kill me."

"And?" Calleigh asked. "And apparently I killed his son. He's blaming me for the death of his son, because when he was arrested for Attempted Murder, the son got taken by child services." He told them.

"But Horatio this is not your fault." Calleigh said looking at him. "Yeah I know, that's what I told him, but he won't budge." Horatio replied.

"Got a hit!" Eric exclaimed thanking Calleigh and left with the evidence.

"Are you okay?" Calleigh asked softly standing next to him, stroking his hair. He nodded yes. She then took his cheek in her hand and kissed him on his soft lips. "I love you, Horatio." She said after a while. "I love you too." He replied.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The next day the team were called out to a scene. "Listen up team, we've got a kidnapping situation. It takes priority. Twenty-seven year old male, Caucasian, green eyes and brown hair, and he went missing at his scene, so let's process it as quickly as we can and find this man." Horatio shouted, demandingly.

"When did he go missing?" Calleigh asked.

"A report was filled several hours ago, by an unknown person." Frank said looking into his notebook. "It looks mysterious." He said looking at Horatio. He then turned to Horatio. "Horatio , don't you think this might be another attack on you? I mean we've got the same M.O. here?" he said with concern in his voice.

Horatio smiled mischievously. "Frank, it may seem so, and I don't want another repeat of that day. I'll play this carefully, my friend." He said walking off to the hummer.

Horatio wanted to be alone, since Frank confronted him with concern about the situation. He couldn't help but to think of his near death experience. All that he went through the entire three weeks, it wasn't like him at all. Horatio wasn't being Horatio at all. Some of it were true however, like the feelings he had for Calleigh. Those were sincere.

So he drove to a quite place near the beach, to be alone and at peace. Once again, the ocean just played its magic on Horatio to make him less scared and hurt and in fear of his life. _Days went by, and I didn't know what was happening. It's like I'm not living my life anymore. Blood was wasted at the accident. My blood. And it was the accident that nearly killed me. "_You're not at peace with yourself, Horatio. Get your life back. Make it right_." _He said to himself. However, he was struggling, he still didn't feel the strong character that he was known to be. This would take time to heal.

Horatio was then interrupted by a radio message from dispatch.

"_Shots fired! Shots fired! Shots fired! Requesting all available units to 1953 Boulevard Avenue. Approach with caution." _Came the message from the dispatcher.

"That's the crime scene." Horatio muttered to himself, turning on the sirens and accelerating back towards the odd warehouse building.

He arrived at the destination to be greeted by two hummers, and one squad car. They were all empty, except for the road which had two dead police officers laying in it.

"This is Lieutenant Horatio Caine, I need backup immediately at 1953 Boulevard Avenue. Immediately!" he shouted over the phone.

He approached the warehouse with extreme caution. He had no idea what surprise awaited him.

Horatio slowly opened the door, only to be greeted with an ugly sight.

Ryan and Eric were on the ground cuffed to each other, unconscious. And Natalia and Calleigh was tied up, very conscious.

Horatio gasped so loud, that the two man, who he presumed was the bad guys, turned around to hold him at gun point.

"Ah so nice of you to hold us Lieutenant." The man said keeping his shotgun firm on Horatio. Horatio did the same.

"You let them go!" Horatio growled, taking his usual shooting stance.

"No, no, no, this is not how it's working." He said.

"Try me." Horatio said, not backing off. He knew back up was soon to be arriving, so he tried stalling.

"What if I tie you up along with your friends, and torture you instead of them huh? Guess your two girlfriends won't mind a bit." The man taunted.

Horatio gnashed his teeth. Calleigh looked carefully at Horatio, she knew the man had struck a nerve by saying that.

"How about I shoot you?" Horatio said, clenching through his teeth. "Who do you work for anyway?" he asked, knowing the answer already.

"A man you recently put into jail." The man remarked stupidly.

"Well, when you die, and he will join you later on, tell him I said 'nice try'." Horatio said so fast, the man was taking time to process what he said. But before he even got the chance, Horatio took a fast shot at the man standing on his left side, and finally planting a bullet into the man's forehead in front of him. Calleigh and Natalia's eyes was widened by this decision. Horatio saw the looks on their faces. "Well, it was either that or being tortured again, and I think I'm done with the second choice." Horatio said heading towards them to cut them loose. "And what happened to them?" he asked pointing at Eric and Ryan. "He knocked them down and chloroformed them." Said a still astonished Calleigh. "Well I think they should go to the hospital for a check up." Horatio said. "Horatio, are you okay?" Calleigh asked unsurely. Horatio looked into her eyes. "I'm fine now, sweetheart." He said and walked away.

Horatio had given the four of them the day off and went home himself. At home Calleigh made dinner and Horatio laid on his bed, just thinking about the turn of events.

"Horatio" Calleigh called, but he didn't answer. She called again and again, but still no answer. She then went upstairs and found him asleep on the bed, still dressed in his suit. So instinct took over, and she laid down, next to him, trying to hold him close. He stirred. "Oh I'm sorry, Horatio. Didn't mean to disturb you. " She said softly. He turned around to embrace her. "You didn't disturb me, sweetheart." He whispered sleepily, looking into her eyes. "I was scared today, Horatio." She whimpered into his chest. "Hey, it's okay, sweetheart, I'm here. I'm always here." he said kissing the top of her head reassuringly. She returned the kiss, to his lips. "I know, I knew you'd come." She said. "You always come."

**THE END**

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, and yes this ending is a bit of a sudden, but I had to end it there.**

**Thank you again :) **


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